Rapids fans unfurl the Colorado state flag as they celebrate a goal by Jaime Castrillon #23 of the Colorado Rapids celebrates in the 86th minute against the Portland Timbers at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Sept. 5, 2012 in Commerce City. The Rapids defeated the Timbers 3-0.

Trevor Brown, Jr., Getty Images

Colorado Rapids fans cheer on their team during their MLS match against the Los Angeles Galaxy at Dick's Sporting Goods Park Sept. 30, 2012 in Commerce City. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.

Justin Edmonds, Getty Images

A fan of the Colorado Rapids supports their team against the Philadelphia Union at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on March 10, 2013 in Commerce City.

George Frey, Getty Images

Fans of Colorado watch a game between Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids during the second half of an MLS soccer game March 16, 2013 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. Real Salt Laek and the Colorado Rapids played to a 1-1 tie.

Doug Pensinger, Getty Images

Supporters welcome the Colorado Rapids to the pitch as they host the San Jose Earthquakes at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Sept. 27, 2014 in Commerce City. The Earthquakes and the Rapids played to a 1-1 draw.

Doug Pensinger, Getty Images

Fans support the Colorado Rapids as they take the field to face the New England Revolution at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on April 4, 2015 in Commerce City.

Doug Pensinger, Getty Images

A Colorado Rapids supporter waves the Colorado flag as the team take the field to face the the Montreal Impact at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on May 24, 2014 in Commerce City. The Rapids defeated the Impact 4-1.

Doug Pensinger, Getty Images

Colorado Rapids supporters hoist their scarves as the team takes the field to face the the Montreal Impact at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on May 24, 2014 in Commerce City. The Rapids defeated the Impact 4-1.

Doug Pensinger, Getty Images

Fans display their scarves as they support the Colorado Rapids as they take the pitch to face the Toronto FC at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on April 2, 2016 in Commerce City. The Rapids defeated Toronto FC 1-0.

Harry How, Getty Images

Colorado Rapids fans before the MLS Western Conference Finals game against the Seattle Sounders at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Nov. 27, 2016 in Commerce City.

The Rapids Way: An Evolution

Who are we? What do we stand for? What do we want to achieve? These are perhaps the most important questions that any organization can ask itself, in large part because answering them truthfully requires complete honesty. It also requires committing to a strong set of values, acknowledging shortcomings, and perhaps most importantly, it requires looking ahead to the future.

As interim general manager and chief business officer of the Colorado Rapids Soccer Club, we believe these are questions best answered in the public eye. In part, because sports organizations — soccer clubs especially — must be just as focused on the community they represent as they are on the success they aspire to achieve. When supporters come out for a match, they should look out over the pitch and see something familiar. Something that makes them proud not just of their team, but also the culture that it embodies.

At the Rapids, we’ve long sought to accomplish that. But far too often — at the fault of no one individual in particular — there has at times been a disconnect between the club’s vision and the product on the field. Alongside the rest of our talented front office, our primary goal is to fix that disconnect. To bridge that divide.

We believe that to earn the fans’ trust, we must be transparent about what our vision is and how we plan to get there. We must also be held accountable when things are not going the way they should. In doing so, it allows fans to see us taking the concrete steps needed to turn that vision in to a reality.

Internally, we call our vision The Rapids Way. But as we sit here today, we realize that to be successful, The Rapids Way must evolve.

And to do that, we must first embrace the things that our club has always done well. The things that make us who we are. Then we must be honest with ourselves about what we’re not doing well, and find a way to improve. Finally, we need to be open and forthcoming about where we want to go.

Long before either of us arrived in Commerce City, the Rapids were a club whose success was built on being well-organized, difficult to break down, and good at grinding out results. Some seasons were better than others, of course, but by and large those attributes have been the calling card of this club for much of its 21-year existence.

Yet the last few seasons have shown that those attributes are no longer enough. It’s simple — we have to improve. And in doing so, we need to become a more attack-minded team. We need to invest our time and resources in becoming bolder, and more creative in how we conduct ourselves.

With that in mind, going forward we will look to target players who play with boldness and urgency. We will look for players with high soccer IQ and game intelligence. Explosive players with good mobility. Players whose first instinct is to drive forward, to seek out the line-breaking pass, and to take on his opposite number. Players who, at the end of the day, exhibit the same burning desire to win that we do.

Player acquisition alone will not be enough though. We’re also going to implement a system — or a set of principles — in the coming months that will allow for us to think vertically and allow our attacking players more freedom.

We want to be a high-intensity team that is willing to take calculated risks in the right areas of the field — but all the while maintaining the defensive discipline that is part and parcel to who we are, and always have been.

In short, we’ll hold tight to the things that this club stands for, but we must find evolution in the areas that we aspire to improve.

In a league of extreme parity, we’ll also need to continue to exercise a healthy degree of financial intelligence and make sure we’re getting the best players at the best value. It is because of this approach that we’re confident in our ability to improve our team from a personnel standpoint ahead of the 2018 season and beyond.

Ultimately, though, our goal for this club is to be a perennial playoff team who regularly competes for trophies. At the end of the day, everything we do is about putting ourselves in a position to win an MLS Cup. We want to bring another trophy home to Colorado.

There are, of course, other pieces to the puzzle. Continuing the work being done in our Development Academy, getting the absolute most of our sports science and data analytics teams, and moving away from a player acquisition policy that in the past has been agent-driven, to one that is system- or philosophy-driven.

Above all, though, we want to make our supporters proud. We want them to know that we are evolving and that we stand with them as one club. We want them to know that success is not far away. And that there is a plan in place to achieve it.

Pádraig Smith is the sporting director and interim general manager of the Colorado Rapids. Wayne Brant is the Rapids’ interim chief business officer.

The Colorado Rapids were one defensive stop away from a hard-fought road point in head coach Anthony Hudson's MLS debut on Saturday. But then Chris Tierney snatched all three points for New England, scoring a free kick in the 93rd minute at Gillette Stadium to push the Revolution to a 2-1 win.

With a new head coach and an abundance of new faces, the Colorado Rapids open their 23rd MLS season Saturday at New England. Anthony Hudson, a Seattle native whose father Alan played for Arsenal and the Seattle Sounders of the old North American Soccer League, promises to bring a "positive and aggressive" style of soccer featuring dual strikers and a...